Antibullying

What is Bullying?

 Bullying can be defined as “behaviour by an individual or a group, repeated over time that intentionally hurts another individual either physically or emotionally”. (DfE “Preventing and Tackling Bullying”, July 2017).

What does Bullying look like, feel like, sound like? 

Bullying is any behaviour by an individual or group that:

• Is meant to hurt –the person or people doing the bullying know what they are doing and mean to do it.
• Happens more than once – there will be a pattern of behaviour, not just a ‘one- off’ incident
• Involves an Imbalance of power – the person being bullied will usually find it very hard to defend themselves.

Bullying can be:

•  Physical, e.g. kicking, hitting, taking and damaging belongings
• Verbal, e.g. name calling, taunting, threats, offensive/personal remarks
• Relational, e.g. spreading nasty stories, gossiping, excluding from social groups
• Cyber, e.g. sending offensive, upsetting and inappropriate messages by phone, text, instant messenger, through gaming, websites, social media sites and apps and sending offensive or degrading photos or videos.
• Indirect, e.g. graffiti, defacing of property, display of pornographic, class, disability, homophobic, racist or sexist material.
• Bullying is recognised by the school as being a form of peer on peer abuse. It can be emotionally abusive and can cause severe and adverse effects on children’s emotional development.

Procedures to be followed for all reported incidents of bullying

•  All incidents of bullying must be recorded on CPOMS under Bullying. This will alert the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and the Safeguarding Team that a bullying issue has been identified and recorded.
• The school will provide appropriate support for the person being bullied – making sure they are not at risk of immediate harm and will involve them in any decision-making, as appropriate.
• Parental contact will be made for both the victim and the perpetrator so that parents are kept fully informed.
• The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying must be investigated by the Head of Year or a member of SLT. This will involve interviewing all parties involved.
• The school will speak with and inform other staff members, where appropriate.
• Sanctions, as identified within the school behaviour policy, and support will be implemented in consultation with all parties concerned.
• The school will ensure parents/carers are kept informed about the concern and action taken, as appropriate and in line with child protection and confidentially policies.
• The person dealing with the Bullying Investigation should log all outcomes and actions on the ‘Bullying Incident form’ (Appendix B).
• If necessary, other agencies may be consulted or involved, such as the police, if a criminal offence has been committed, or other local services including early help or children’s social care, if a child is felt to be at risk of significant harm.
• An attempt will be made to help the bully/ bullies change their behaviour through a reflection programme (a series of workshops led by the Head of Year.
• Restorative Justice in the form of mediation will be attempted.
• Where the bullying of or by students takes place off school site or outside of normal school hours (including cyberbullying), the school will ensure that the concern is fully investigated.

If required, the DSL will collaborate with other schools. Appropriate action will be taken, including providing support and implementing sanctions in school in accordance with this policy and the school’s behaviour policy.

Supporting adults

Our school takes measures to prevent and tackle bullying among students; however, it is equally important to recognise that bullying of adults, including staff and parents, whether by students, parents or other staff members, is unacceptable.

Adults who have been bullied or affected will be supported by:

• Offering an immediate opportunity to discuss the concern with the designated safeguarding lead, a senior member of staff / the Staff Mental Health Lead and/or the Principal.
• Advising them to keep a record of the bullying as evidence and discuss how to respond to concerns and build resilience, as appropriate.
• Where the bullying takes place off school site or outside of normal school hours (including online), the school will still investigate the concern and ensure that appropriate action is taken in accordance with the schools’ behaviour and discipline policy.
• Reporting offensive or upsetting content and/or accounts to the service provider, where the bullying has occurred online.
• Reassuring and offering appropriate support.
• Working with the wider community and local/national organisations to provide further or specialist advice and guidance.

Adults who have perpetrated the bullying will be helped by:

Discussing what happened with a senior member of staff and/or the Principal to establish the concern.

• Establishing whether a legitimate grievance or concern has been raised and signposting to the school’s official complaints procedures.
• If online, requesting that content be removed.
• Instigating disciplinary, civil or legal action as appropriate or required.

Policy and Support 

The whole school community will:

• Provide a range of approaches for students, staff and parents/carers to access support and report concerns.
• Regularly update and evaluate our practice to consider the developments of technology and provide up-to-date advice and education to all members of the community regarding positive online behaviour.
• Take appropriate, proportionate and reasonable action, in line with existing school policies, for any bullying bought to the schools’ attention, which involves or effects students, even when they are not on school premises; for example, when using school transport or online, etc.
• Implement appropriate disciplinary sanctions; the consequences of bullying will reflect the seriousness of the incident, so that others see that bullying is unacceptable.
• Use a variety of techniques to resolve the issues between those who bully, and those who have been bullied.

Education and Training

The school community will:

• Train all staff, including: teaching staff, support staff (e.g. administration staff, lunchtime support staff and site support staff) and pastoral staff, to identify all forms of bullying and take appropriate action, following the school’s policy and procedures, including recording and reporting incidents.
• Consider a range of opportunities and approaches for addressing bullying throughout the curriculum and other activities, such as: through displays, assemblies, peer support, the school/student council, etc.
• Collaborate with other local educational settings as appropriate, and during key times of the year, for example during transition.
• Ensure anti-bullying has a high profile throughout the year, reinforced through key opportunities such as anti-bullying week
• Provide systematic opportunities to develop students’ social and emotional skills, including building their resilience and self-esteem.

Involvement of students 

We will:

• Involve students in policy writing and decision making, to ensure that they understand the school’s approach and are clear about the part they play in preventing bullying.
• Regularly canvas children and young people’s views on the extent and nature of bullying.
• Ensure that all students know how to express worries and anxieties about bullying.
• Ensure that all students are aware of the range of sanctions which may be applied against those engaging in bullying.
• Involve students in anti-bullying campaigns in schools and embedded messages in the wider school curriculum.
• Utilise student voice in providing student led education and support
• Publicise the details of internal support, as well as external helplines and websites.
• Offer support to students who have been bullied and to those who are bullying to address the problems they have.